


Just By Being There

by randomwriter57



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Introspection, Mild Hurt/Comfort, No Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Sickfic, it's royal compliant but contains no spoilers, set during the 5th palace so vanilla game spoilers for that, some text messages but mostly prose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:29:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25408435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomwriter57/pseuds/randomwriter57
Summary: “How are you feeling? Don’t lie.”There was a long moment of silence in which all Morgana could hear was the distant clacking of plates and Ren’s breathing, harsh and shallow.Finally, Ren spoke. “Like shit. Cold. Head hurts. Chest hurts.”“And why do you think that is?”Another pause.“Ren?”Silence. And then-“…I’m sick.”Ren gets sick, and Morgana tries to help.
Relationships: Morgana & Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 8
Kudos: 188
Collections: Quality Persona Fics





	Just By Being There

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So this is a genfic because I love Morgana and Ren's relationship and wanted to expand on it in my own writing. Making them both suffer a little came as a side product lol.
> 
> Honestly I wrote the first draft of this back in December, so certain world circumstances have since made this fic have a weird context. Just to clarify - this is set in P5 canon (2016), so it's not about covid. I just love sickfics and seeing characters worry about each other. Wear a mask, wash your hands, stay safe <3
> 
> Also no Royal spoilers, only vanilla spoilers for the 5th Palace. (I'm not past that point in Royal either, don't worry lol)

Sometimes, Ren could be a total idiot. No matter how much Morgana admired him most of the time, this was a truth he couldn't ignore.

"This is what you get for neglecting your health," Morgana says from his perch on the edge of the bed.

From under a cocoon of blankets, Ren shoots him a tired glare. "I felt fine until now."

Even as he says this, his voice catches on the last word, and he ducks under the covers in a storm of coughs. Each one rattles his body and takes the bed with it, shaking atop the crates holding the mattress up.

"I leave for a few days and you get yourself sick. You need to take better care of yourself!"

"I'm okay," Ren groans.

"Yeah, yeah." Morgana rolls his eyes. At this point, it's not worth fighting with Ren about this. "Just go to sleep. You need some rest."

If Ren has any complaints, they're only a muffled grumbling that lasts a few seconds before he settles. In his silence, it's even more obvious how his chest rattles with each breath.

Morgana’s expression falls into a frown. Though he might act high and mighty, seeing Ren like this worries him.

He should have seen this coming. He should have been there to make sure Ren was still taking care of himself - instead he was caught up in his own pride and a petty grudge.

Something deep within him - something innate - tells him he’s failed, somehow. It’s not something explicable, but it presses insistently at the back of his mind, nagging guilt into him. Maybe it’s because of their deal - because of the give and take nature of the Phantom Thieves. Maybe Morgana has been taking without giving back for too long.

He tries to think back - maybe there was some time when he could have seen this coming, could have stopped Ren from getting sick in the first place. A few instances certainly spring to mind, and he curls into himself on the edge of the bed, his hackles raising alongside his guilt.

Ren has probably been suffering for a while now.

What kind of Phantom Thief is Morgana if he can’t do anything to help his team’s leader - his closest companion?

* * *

His leaving the Phantom Thieves - that was probably the kicking off point. Morgana hadn’t thought or cared about the effect his disappearance might have on the other Thieves; to be honest, he fully expected them to push on as though everything was normal, only to fall down at the first hurdle and realise how much they truly needed him. He’d tossed his head and dashed out of Yongen-Jaya, heading straight for the only place where he knew he could be useful - Okumura’s Palace.

A benefit of living with Futaba whilst everyone was in Hawaii was that he learned everything about their next target at the same time as she did. With no disadvantages in terms of intel, it didn’t take Morgana long to locate the Okumura Foods HQ and enter the Metaverse.

Of course, he’d severely underestimated that Palace. Hours later, when the light broke through the horizon, Morgana awoke bruised and aching in an unfamiliar room. The bedsheets were a soft white, faintly floral in scent. He scrunched his nose at it - not that it was unpleasant, but it was a stark difference from the shock of coffee beans his nose had grown used to over the past five months. For a moment he could have sworn he was in the flower shop in the underground mall, resting in a bag on a shelf.

Sitting up, however, proved Morgana wrong; he had no clue where he was. Each piece of furniture emanated grace and elegance, with floral imagery depicted in most every piece. The walls bore large paintings where lines blurred and melted into each other, soft and dreamlike. This room clearly belonged to an elegant young woman.

It was no surprise, then, when Morgana’s eyes found the sleeping form of Haru Okumura at his side in the bed, curled under the covers. She was barely a familiar face - they hadn’t spent long in the Palace together, after all - but she was a comforting one. She almost looked like a fairytale princess in sleep.

Morgana turned his gaze away from her, instead looking at the wall to his right. He could only assume it was lined with windows, since each one was covered by a veneer of white curtains. There was a little gap in the middle through which the morning light shone. Through it, Morgana could see a hint of the window, dappled with raindrops.

“Oh, Mona-chan, you’re awake.”

Haru sat up in bed, smiling as she wiped the sleep out of her eyes. Considering the raw anger she’d shown last night when her will of rebellion manifested into a Persona, seeing her so comfortable and sweet was quite the contrast. You wouldn’t think a girl like her would be able to hold a heavy axe with such ease, and yet…

Her eyes trailed over to the window, following his gaze. “Oh, it’s raining. I hope it clears up by the afternoon.”

“Oh yeah, you tend the flowers at school, don’t you?” Morgana asked.

“I do,” Haru said, smiling at him. “You’re more than welcome to join me - though I’m not sure how I’ll get you to school without you being noticed.”

Morgana reckoned she meant by her teachers, which was a fair enough worry. Somehow Ren’s teachers all seemed oblivious to his constant presence inside Ren’s desk and bag, but that didn’t mean Haru’s teachers wouldn’t notice. Either way, it would be more troublesome if he were spotted by a certain other group of people right now.

“It’s fine, I’ll just stay here,” Morgana said. “I can work on a plan for infiltrating Oku- your father’s Palace.”

“That might be best,” Haru said. “I’ll be counting on you, Mona-chan!”

As Haru prepared for the day, Morgana sat by the wall-length windows, watching the rain dapple against the glass. The excess of sun over the course of the summer only made today’s rain lash down harder. Last time the rain had been this bad was during the rainy season a few months ago. Of course, Morgana had been spared most of its lashings - after the first close call of Ren forgetting his umbrella, he made sure to prod him every rainy day to make sure he had it. Morgana easily made room for the collapsible umbrella in the bag, too. Jeez, that kid would be lost without him.

Or maybe not. Well, according to _Ryuji_ , anyway.

Morgana turned to Haru, seeing her packing her schoolbag nearby. “Hey, don’t forget your umbrella.”

Haru smiled sweetly at him with a melodic giggle. “Thank you, Mona-chan. I’ll pick it up at the door.”

And indeed, Haru picked up a blush pink umbrella from a surprisingly simple umbrella stand on her way out. Morgana watched from behind the stair banister as she did it. Yet even with his own two eyes confirming her safety, the anxious weight in his gut just wouldn’t go away.

* * *

A couple of days later, Morgana was punted into a wall by Haru’s jerk fiancé. He woke up in an all-too-comfortable attic bedroom, bruised both in body and pride.

“The Phantom Thieves are disbanding,” he said.

But they all spoke up for him, telling him to stay with them, and when even Ryuji was trying to be nice to him, he couldn’t exactly complain. Besides, it would be rude to refuse a lady like Haru after she so kindly cared for him over the past few days.

That night, he watched his team head down the stairs, with Haru joining Futaba on her walk to the Sakura residence.

A soft voice spoke up. “Hey.”

Morgana turned around.

Ren sat on his bed, his expression unclear as always. He patted the empty spot beside him on the bed - the space where Morgana always sat during their discussions.

Gracefully, Morgana hopped up onto the bed, sitting in his spot. It was only after sleeping on Haru’s huge bed that he could appreciate the way Ren’s bed dipped underneath their weights, with some springs jutting out where the cartons underneath held the mattress up. At least Morgana could easily stretch out his flexible spine each morning, thanks to his current form - he’d never admit it aloud, but that was one of the only benefits of being a cat. Ren, on the other hand, seemed to slouch more nowadays even than he had when they’d first met. Morgana chalked it up to the bed - Haru’s posture was perfect, and her bed had no irritating bumps or lumps to be found.

“I’m glad you decided to stay,” Ren said. A small smile crossed his lips.

Though the sight made Morgana’s heart warm for a moment, he looked away and said, “Of course I did! You guys were adamant on continuing with the Phantom Thieves, and you’d be lost without me.”

A quaver hit his throat as he spoke, and he dropped his prideful demeanour for a second.

“For real, though,” he said, turning back to Ren. “I can’t back down now. I’m in debt to you guys, and to Haru too. We need to help her as soon as possible.”

Ren nodded. “And there’s Mementos, too.”

“Huh?”

“You wanted to explore the depths, right? We promised to help you find your memories.”

Morgana didn’t know what to say. Instead of speaking, then, he got up and padded over to Ren’s side, butting his head gently against Ren’s arm. He then turned away.

“Well, it’s time for bed. Can’t have the leader of the Phantom Thieves missing his beauty sleep.”

Ren gave a soft chuckle as he stood up. “Alright.”

Morgana ended up on Ren’s stomach that night, purring gently as he grew comfortable in his home once more.

* * *

Despite Morgana’s complaints about being tired every night, he never fell asleep before Ren. It wasn’t that he couldn’t - napping came easily in the body of a cat, and he wondered at times if his (hypothetical?) human form might find sleep just as easily. But after his first few weeks living with Ren, Morgana learned to stave off sleep for as long as he could, listening carefully until Ren’s breathing evened out and his body slumped into relaxation.

Part of it was ensuring that Ren didn’t stay up all night making lockpicks or drinking coffee or doing anything else that would detriment his health in the long run. Though Morgana appreciated that the leader of the team was so dedicated to their cause, nothing good would come of him running himself ragged by not taking care of himself.

Morgana’s other reason for staying awake was a more selfish one; he could only think carefully about the situation he’d found himself in if Ren wasn’t paying attention. Considering Ren’s amazing intuition and perception, the only time Morgana could be sure his musings were kept secret was if Ren’s attention was otherwise occupied.

Not long after his return to the Phantom Thieves, he found himself in such a situation.

They’d spent their afternoon in the Palace earlier that day; it had soon become clear that Okumura’s Palace might be their most tedious one yet. They’d managed to make it about a third of the way through, but not without going through countless battles and struggling to reason with cognitive robots to get past the security ID barriers. With Ren and Haru having done much of the heavy lifting in their battles, they’d eventually become far too tired to continue, at which point they’d been forced to leave for the day. Even once they’d returned to Leblanc, Ren had been falling asleep as he tried to read his book. Eventually Morgana had to force him to stop and rest, and for once the teen had complied. He’d collapsed into bed and was unconscious within minutes.

Despite Ren’s fatigue, Morgana found himself very much awake. Though his body was tired, his mind was going too fast to really let him rest at all.

They had a lot to do, from here on out. Obviously, their priority was taking down Okumura - Morgana could never forgive that man for what he planned on doing to Haru. Such a sweet girl who only ever showed kindness certainly didn’t deserve to be treated like a bartering chip. Sure, the Palace was a slog, but with their current team Morgana knew they’d make it to the end. Besides, their leader was still the most promising and capable guy Morgana had come across. There was no way they could fail.

But as his gaze turned from the middle distance to his companion, Morgana could see the Palace was wearing Ren down as much as everyone else. His skin looked a little paler than usual - though that could be the dark, right? But what about the purplish colour forming under his eyes? Or the way his eyebrows scrunched together in sleep, how he shifted without finding true rest?

Well, it was just because of the Palace, right? The past few days had been stressful on all of their team - it was no small wonder that Ren would be affected just as much. The guy wasn’t invincible.

Sometimes, it was easy to forget that Ren wasn’t made of iron. He took everything in his stride, no matter what the distorted people of Tokyo told him. Even when every student he passed had only vile insults to throw at him; even in the face of imminent legal trouble from their previous targets; no matter what, Ren kept calm and cool. Morgana wished he had half the level head that Ren did.

But then Morgana remembered the first few nights he’d spent sleeping by Ren’s side. How Ren had shifted in his sleep, how his whole body had tensed up, how he’d one night allowed a fragile “no” to escape his throat in sleep, unbidden. Morgana had awoken from his fair share of nightmares, so he kept his eyes shut when he felt Ren jolt awake, heard his breathing sharpen before being forced into a slower pattern. Often Ren’s hand would find its way to Morgana’s fur in those times, gently patting his back until the shaking stopped. And although overly touchy gestures set him on edge, Morgana almost wished those weren’t the only times Ren would seek physical comfort.

He’d been through so much. And sure, Morgana had felt useless to all of their team, but knowing there was nothing he could do for Ren left the bitterest taste on his tongue.

So when Ren’s muscles tensed up during Morgana’s self-reflection, he nuzzled closer to the boy’s side, hoping he could at least be a rock for him to latch onto when he awoke.

* * *

Unfortunately, the rest of Okumura’s Palace did nothing to help Ren’s condition.

The factory was worse than the first third of the Palace, in a lot of ways. Though the Shadows were easy enough to take care of once they’d figured out their weaknesses, they now had robotic arms and hydraulic presses to deal with. Once they’d realised they’d have to rush around the Palace at top speed to get past the mechanisms, Joker had raised concerns for the others - in particular Skull, whose bad leg could leave him in a dangerous situation if he wasn’t careful. By the time they’d passed over several of the presses, however, it was Joker who could be found at the back of the group, breathing heavily and signalling that he was fine, don’t worry.

The further they infiltrated, the more Joker slowed down. It was as though he’d been hit by a permanent Sukunda spell; he started missing more often, even against easy foes. At some point Oracle must have noticed, since her moral support came into play far more often as she called out a bright “Speed up!” and increased the party’s evasion. Then again, she could probably tell better than anyone what the conditions of their party members were, since her Persona had abilities even Morgana hadn’t seen before. He supposed she was just changing their cognitions, one button press at a time.

Eventually they made it through the final third of the Palace and to the safe room closest to the Treasure. Everyone quickly settled into their usual lounging spots around the room, some looking more comfortable than others. Fox and Oracle in particular still looked a little green in the face, and the latter had neglected her usual lying-down position in exchange for frog-crouching beside her laptop. Panther and Skull’s demeanours weren’t much different from their usual casual attitudes, but Queen and Noir both seemed glad to have a place to rest, sinking into their seats a little more than their postures usually allowed.

Joker stood by the door, his eyes passing over the group behind his mask. “Sorry that took so long,” he said, burying the red of his gloves in his pockets. “I should have had that puzzle figured out quicker.”

Panther leaned back on her hands. “Don’t worry about it, that thing was way too complicated for me to follow. I’m impressed you could.”

“I should also apologise,” Queen said, sitting up a little straighter with her hands resting on her lap. “As the team’s strategist, I’m appalled that I couldn’t be of more use.”

Joker shook his head. “You helped a lot, Queen. You have nothing to apologise for.”

Skull scoffed. “Flying around in space makes your head all screwy, so don’t worry about it.”

“As if you could have figured it out faster,” Panther said, shooting Skull a pointed glare. “You didn’t even help!”

“Neither did you!”

Mona decided to step in - though he’d usually take any chance to side with Panther in an argument against Skull, he could see that this was going nowhere. “Guys, that’s not important. We’re past that now - all that’s left is the Treasure.”

“That’s true,” Joker said, calling everyone’s attention to him again. “But if anyone’s not feeling well after that, let me know. We might have some healing items you can take to ease the queasiness before we return to the real world.”

Oracle looked up from her computer screen, her expression hidden behind bug-eyed lenses. “I’ll take some.”

“I as well,” said Fox, to no one’s surprise. His weak stomach had already become a common talking point on the rails of Mementos.

As Joker passed out items to their motion-sick party members, Mona noticed that he took nothing for himself. Instead, their leader returned to his leaning position by the door, letting himself doze off there as everyone else rested and chatted amongst themselves. Mona figured maybe Joker didn’t want to deplete their stocks too much before they sent the calling card - a wise decision, if the preceding obstacles in the Palace were anything to judge by. Some good old-fashioned bed rest would probably help more than anything, if Mona could force him to lay still for a few hours.

“But man, that seriously sucked,” said Skull. “I don’t think a Palace has taken us that long since… what, Kamoshida?”

“Now that I think about it, we did complete Kaneshiro’s Palace all in one go,” Queen said, pressing her chin to her fist in thought. “The same goes for Fu- I mean, Oracle’s Palace.”

“It took two days for Madarame, but that’s only because we had to unlock a door,” Panther added. “I knew this Palace was rough, but I didn’t realise we were having this much trouble.”

“I suppose it reflects my father’s attitude toward his employees,” Noir said, her eyes casting downward at the thought. “Such an ordeal must not be far from what they go through every day at work.”

“Not for much longer,” Mona said, seeing their newest fledgling’s upset. “We’ll take his Treasure and put an end to all this. Don’t worry, Noir.”

“You’re right. Thanks, Mona-chan.”

That afternoon, they all left the Palace exhausted, but none more so than Ren. By the time he got back to Leblanc and bade Futaba goodbye, he had already just about passed out. Morgana didn’t even have to tell him to go to sleep - for once, Ren fell straight into bed without any complaints.

Morgana, who felt similarly tired, curled up in his spot next to Ren and let himself fall asleep, confident that everything would go to plan.

* * *

In the days following the Palace, Ren didn’t give himself any time to rest.

Between meeting with his confidants, working on his hobbies, and fulfilling Mementos requests, he barely seemed to have a moment to breathe. Morgana couldn’t complain - he was doing all this for the sake of the Phantom Thieves, after all - but given his recent exhaustion in Okumura’s Palace, he couldn’t help but be concerned either.

Then again, if he was managing to do this many things, maybe he really was feeling better. They’d managed to clear two whole floors of Mementos the other day, taking out a chunk of requests that had been piling up at the same time. To be fair, the fights had been fairly easy; their Palace training left them stronger than the enemies they faced, and most of the time they could drive through a whole area without a scratch on any of them. Sure, they’d had to make a hasty exit at the end of their trip when they got into a particularly sticky battle; an Anubis had very nearly wiped their front-line party, and Joker took a nasty hit before finishing the enemy off. Luckily, Mona and Queen had the stamina left to heal their friends sufficiently - Mona doubted Joker could even have pulled off a Dia in his state.

Ren had been fine spending his evening making curry, though, so Morgana put it down to bad luck and left it at that.

But it was more than bad luck at play when, only days later, Kunikazu Okumura suffered a mental shutdown on live TV. The situation was horrible and confusing enough without Haru having found out as they prematurely celebrated what was supposed to be a successful change of heart. It was no small wonder their whole group left Destinyland with bitter tongues and churning stomachs. Morgana felt a weight upon his small shoulders - he’d been the one to take Haru under his wing, to assure her that the plan wouldn’t fail, no matter what. Though he tried to keep a brave face and a stream of positive assertions, neither of those could aid him when he was faced with the loneliness of night. Where once Ren’s sleeping gave Morgana precious time to think, now he selfishly craved a distraction, even in those small hours.

That was not to say Ren slept at all well. He split his days between checking anxiously on his friends and attempting to study for the upcoming exams. At night he’d be under the covers at the usual time, but at least an hour always passed before his body met rest, and even then, that rest was all too fleeting. Ren bore the dark circles that Morgana shared internally. Neither mentioned them - this was just another stone to bear alongside a far heavier weight on their shoulders.

By the time October 13th rolled around, Morgana had accepted that their team couldn’t possibly operate optimally, at least until the exams had passed. Emotional pain could not so easily be mended.

He awoke that morning to a shuddering cough. The sky was still dark outside, the horizon too high to expose anything but a glimpse of the sun’s light. Morgana blinked blearily at Ren, who held a hand over his mouth.

“Sorry,” Ren said, his voice crackly from sleep. “Something’s stuck in my throat.”

But whatever was stuck there must have been persistent; Ren’s coughing continued throughout the day, with a few particularly bad ones sneaking in during the breaks between classes at school. In the evening, Ren’s first sip of coffee caused him to grimace as the bitter taste caught the back of his throat. His chest lurched with a spasm, but he fought to drink his coffee without choking. At night, he tried to control his breathing - Morgana could tell, listening to his sharp and shallow gasps suddenly slowing into rattling nose breaths. Something would inevitably catch every now and then, but Ren would only cover his mouth and wait for the fit to pass before muttering an apology.

Morgana fought off sleep longer than usual that night, trying not to imagine the red rawness of Ren’s throat as he continued to wheeze, even in sleep.

* * *

On the morning of Friday 14th, they both awoke exhausted; Ren had stayed up half the night with hacking coughs, and Morgana had stayed up the rest with relentless worry. When Ren swung his legs out of bed, he had to grab the shelves by the bed to stop himself from wobbling.

“Are you alright?” Morgana asked, worriedly padding closer to Ren, as though he could provide any support in his small form. “You look pale.”

Ren pushed a hand through his limp black curls, letting out a croaky exhale. “I’m fin-”

As though to show how little that was the case, a cough interrupted Ren’s words. He pressed it into the back of his hand, then continued his slow walk toward the bathroom.

“No, you’re not,” Morgana said, rushing to block his path. “I think you’re getting sick. You should take today off.”

But Ren only shook his head, walking around Morgana and down the stairs.

It took longer than usual for Ren to pull his appearance together. By the time he was ready, Sojiro was already manning the cafe counter, with a pan of curry bubbling on the stove.

Ren almost walked past with only a short greeting. Sojiro stopped him short.

“Hey, don’t you want breakfast?” he said gruffly.

“I’ll be late,” Ren said in response.

Unimpressed, Sojiro did not yield. He pulled out his wallet, ignoring Ren’s refusal as he pointed a 1,000 yen note at him. “At least buy yourself something from the school shop. You won’t be able to focus without food.”

Ren tried to refuse the money - to be fair, his pockets were already lined with war funds from their last Mementos trip - but Sojiro forced it into his hand with a stern expression.

“Alright,” Ren said. “Thanks.”

“Don’t forget about it,” Sojiro said.

With that, Ren left Leblanc, heading through the alley in the direction of the Yongen-Jaya train station.

Though the morning was young, the station already heaved with commuters. Usually Ren had no trouble weaving between the masses of bodies, finding his own spot in the current like a fish in the tides; his hiding skills as Joker proved useful in the real world, too. But today, he bumped into people, murmuring apologies to Morgana every time the bag was jostled on his arm.

On the train, Ren stood limp by the carriage wall, holding his bag close to his chest to avoid any more collisions. Through it, Morgana could feel the shallow rise and fall of his chest. Usually the only motions would be the bumps of the train and the tapping of Ren’s foot, restless as he waited for the train ride to be over. Today, he let himself be swayed by the train instead, almost leaning against the wall he usually tried not to touch.

Once they reached Shibuya, Ren purchased one of those white masks Morgana had seen people wear sometimes around the city. Ren subtly explained that it stopped germs from spreading illnesses around; Morgana could only appreciate that at least Ren was trying to be considerate of others, even if he’d refused to take the day off completely.

Another train ride later, Ren’s skin seemed to have dropped a few tones paler even than it had been that morning. The pallor contrasted against the black of his blazer and hair. Morgana was almost tempted to make a joke about the Phantom Thieves not being literal phantoms, but he decided against it when he saw the exhaustion in Ren’s eyes. Instead, he pointed Ren toward the shop, where he dutifully spent Sojiro’s 1,000 yen on some bread.

Ren pulled off his face mask in the classroom to eat his bread, but he’d barely nibbled at it when the final bell rang. Ann rushed into the classroom, her face a healthy pink flush from having ran to school.

“Morning, Ren!” she greeted him as she took her seat.

Morgana popped his head out of the desk. “Good morning, Lady Ann!”

She turned around in her seat with a smile, but any words to Morgana were lost when she caught sight of Ren. “Didn’t eat breakfast at home today?”

“Didn’t have time,” Ren said in a hushed voice.

“Oh.” Ann frowned, then opened her mouth to say something else.

Before she could prod any further, though, the classroom door slid open. Morgana ducked under the desk as Ms Kawakami entered for homeroom, calling the class to attention. Ren returned his bread to its paper bag and put it in his school bag, to be forgotten about until later.

Usually Morgana liked to sleep through Ren’s classes. He’d listen when he heard anything that piqued his interest - you never know what might be useful to a Phantom Thief - but mostly he only paid attention when Ren was called on, giving a guiding hand with answering the teacher’s questions.

Today, Morgana kept himself awake by focusing on Ren. For the first few classes, Ren paid the same amount of attention as usual (which, to be fair, was only the bare amount necessary not to receive a piece of chalk to the forehead). He wrote down notes here and there, and answered in as quiet a voice as he could to be understood when Mr Inui inevitably called on him to answer a question. All in all, he was managing fine until around 11 o’clock.

Ms Kawakami, bless her, had taken to occasionally calling other teachers out of class to give Ren a few short minutes of slacking-off time during other teachers’ classes. Today’s victim was Ms Chouno, who didn’t seem too bothered to be drawn away from her lecture on English gerunds. As soon as she left, the classroom erupted into chatter.

“Looks like you’ve got some time!” Morgana said, catching Ren’s attention. “What are you going to do?”

“Sleep,” Ren murmured, not even bothering to set up a textbook before his head hit the desk.

Morgana winced at the impact but said nothing. If Ren could get any more sleep now than he had been at night recently, then risking a nap in class was probably worth it.

In front of Ren’s desk, Morgana heard Ann shift in her seat. “How tired are you?” she said despairingly, though she put something on the desk which Morgana suspected to be one of her own textbooks. He’d make sure Ren thanked her later.

A little while after that, the door to the classroom slid open again. Morgana inched a paw out of the desk, jabbing at Ren’s leg to wake him up. “Ren! She’s back!” he hissed.

But Ren didn’t lift his head from the desk. He only gave a little groan, which turned into a weak cough.

“Ren,” he heard Ann whisper. “Wake up!”

Ms Chouno’s heels clicked across the floor at the front of the classroom. “I have no idea what that was about. They’re not even sure who called me out. Well, it doesn’t matter. Where were we?”

Ren still hadn’t lifted his head from the desk, even as Ms Chouno resumed her lecture. Morgana resorted to more dangerous tactics - he wriggled out of the desk and rested both paws on Ren’s leg. With a muttered apology, he pressed his claws into the skin there.

“Ow!” Ren yelped, jolting upright.

“Is something the matter, Amamiya-san?” Ms Chouno said, turning her attention to the back of the class.

“No,” Ren said. “Sorry.”

When Ms Chouno’s lecture continued, Ren sent a tired glare down at Morgana, who pulled himself back into the desk without a word.

At the end of class, when the chatter picked up, Ren coughed into his hand again. Somehow his appearance had gotten even worse than it had been this morning.

“You really should go home,” Morgana said, taking advantage of the noise to mask his voice. “Or at least to the nurse’s office. You’re not well.”

“I’m fine,” Ren rasped, but breathing made his chest hitch, and his mouth returned to his hand in a new round of coughs.

The seat in front of him shifted.

“Morgana’s right,” Ann said, leaning an elbow on the desk. “You look and sound like crap. You should be resting.”

Ren shook his head. “Exams are next week.”

“As if you won’t get the top score even without studying,” Ann complained. “You’re gonna be worse off if you don’t rest!”

“I’m fine,” Ren insisted. “Don’t worry about me.”

Morgana sighed. This boy was good at a lot of things - the most talented Persona-user he’d ever worked with, for sure - but man was he stubborn.

“At least finish your bread?” Morgana said. “And don’t forget to put the mask back on after.”

This, at least, Ren obliged with.

* * *

“Makoto’s offering to help me study.”

Ren was glancing down at his phone from his seat in the classroom. Today’s classes had just ended, but with exams coming up, Morgana wasn’t surprised the student council president herself was encouraging Ren to study with her. Usually, Morgana would nudge Ren toward that option out of his many invitations from his friends. Today, however…

“You should decline,” Morgana said outright. “Go home and rest!”

“But she’s top of her year. I shouldn’t take an invitation from her for granted.”

“If you see her, she’s going to tell you to go home as well.”

For a moment, Morgana’s words gave Ren pause. He hesitated before backing back out of the text thread to his main inbox. “That’s true.”

Then he opened another text.

Morgana let out a long-suffering sigh. “Just listen to me for once, please?”

“It’d just bug Sojiro and the customers at Leblanc if I did.”

“I’m pretty sure he would understand that you’re sick, Ren.”

“Wouldn’t that just make me a walking health violation?”

“So you _do_ admit that you’re sick!” Morgana dug his paws into Ren’s shoulder as he raised his chin in triumph. Finally, he’d gotten through to him!

Ren stayed silent for a long moment, lips pressed together. At this point, he had run out of solid arguments. Surely he’d have to give in and go home now, right?

“I’m not sick.”

Morgana groaned. This boy was _clueless_.

“Well, whatever!” Morgana fell back into Ren’s schoolbag with a huff. “If you want to make yourself sicker, be my guest!”

Without a word, Ren accepted an invitation from Ryuji and that was that.

* * *

In the evening, Leblanc could be found as empty as ever. Sojiro stayed steadfast behind the counter, drying off some recently washed dishes. The only other person to be found was Futaba, sitting nearby at the counter, lazily tapping at her laptop. She brightened up the moment Ren stepped through the door, turning to greet both him and Morgana.

Her face almost immediately fell. “You look like you’ve got 1HP left.”

Ren grunted in response. He’d pulled off the Morgana-ordained surgical mask at the door to the cafe, so his disdain went unmasked.

Futaba’s words did get Sojiro’s attention, though, and his eyebrows knitted close together as he examined Ren. “You look like crap.”

“I’ve been told,” Ren said. “I probably trained too hard with Ryuji, that’s all.”

Having seen him all day otherwise, Morgana knew that was a load of crap. Morgana had been giving him the cold shoulder since they met up after his training with Ryuji, though, so he stayed adamantly silent.

“Well, whatever,” Sojiro said. “Go upstairs and change. I’m making food if you want any.”

“Is it curry?!” Futaba said, eyes lighting up again as she turned back to her guardian. “How long’s it gonna take? I hunger!”

As Sojiro laughed and replied to her good-naturedly, Ren sneaked by them and headed up the creaky stairs to the attic bedroom. With it being mid-October already, it was starting to get colder outside, though the warmth from Sojiro’s cooking downstairs seemed to have made the attic more habitable today. Still, even as Morgana hopped out of Ren’s bag and onto his usual perch near the stairs, he could swear he saw Ren shivering beneath his blazer.

Ren shrugged off said blazer, folding it neatly before peeling off the rest of his uniform in the same manner. Morgana glanced away for privacy’s sake, but it never took long for Ren to change fully into his casualwear.

The sound of Ren sitting on the edge of the bed called Morgana’s attention back to him, just in time to see Ren flopping sideways and crawling under the blanket. He curled in on himself and pulled the covers close, like a shell.

Cold shoulder be damned, Morgana couldn’t ignore this.

“Ren? What are you doing?” he asked, padding over to the bed. “I know I’m always telling you how sleep is important, but isn’t it a little early for that?”

“Not sleeping,” Ren murmured from his cocoon. “Just cold.”

His breathing hitched, and Ren started coughing. This time, it lasted a minute or so. Morgana jumped up to sit beside Ren on the bed, waiting patiently for the fit to end. Even when it did, the shivers in Ren’s blanketed form did not stop.

“How are you feeling? Don’t lie.” Morgana didn’t know what he’d do if Ren still denied being sick; being obstinate wasn’t charming when it accompanied a body-shaking cough.

There was a long moment of silence in which all Morgana could hear was the distant clacking of plates and Ren’s breathing, harsh and shallow.

Finally, Ren spoke. “Like shit. Cold. Head hurts. Chest hurts.”

“And why do you think that is?”

Another pause.

“Ren?”

Silence. And then-

“…I’m sick.”

Morgana felt a surge of pride and relief at Ren’s confession, though concern quickly followed. “Yeah, you are.”

Ren answered with a couple of chesty coughs.

Simultaneously, a call came from downstairs. “Ren! Food’s ready!”

Ren groaned, curling in on himself some more.

“Eating will help recover your energy,” Morgana said. “You should at least try to eat a little.”

“Wanna sleep.”

“You need to eat, Ren.”

But the boy didn’t reply. When Morgana moved to take a closer look, it seemed that Ren was already a little out of it. Morgana stepped up and placed the pad of his paw on Ren’s forehead, like he’d seen humans do in the films they’d watched together. Where he expected to feel heat, though, he couldn’t really feel any sort of temperature change at all. That was strange - if Ren was shivering, surely he should be cold, right?

Then Morgana remembered the times when Ren or Sojiro had snuck him a spoonful of hot food. Back when Morgana had first been getting used to this cat form, he’d accidentally missed and shoved his nose into the food instead of his mouth. The heat from that food had hurt his nose. In that case, maybe…

Morgana stepped closer and cautiously pressed his nose against the same spot on Ren’s forehead. Instantly, he felt the heat radiating from it, the clammy sensation making his nose wrinkle.

He recoiled. “You’re boiling hot! How are you feeling cold?!”

Ren replied only with a groan, sinking further into his blanket nest.

Another call came from downstairs.

Morgana sighed. Well, with Ren out for the count, there was nothing Morgana could do but tell Futaba what happened. At least she’d be able to pass on the message to Sojiro for him.

He jumped off the bed and hurried downstairs, his paws light enough that the stairs didn’t make a sound even with the pressure.

The warm cafe smelt strongly of delicious curry and coffee, as usual. There were two plates of curry sitting at the bar already, one a little dented. The seat’s inhabitant wasn’t there, though - the only one in the cafe was Sojiro, who was busying himself with something in the kitchen behind the counter.

Crap. Futaba had obviously gone somewhere. That was going to make passing on a message far more difficult.

Sojiro turned to look toward the stairs, frowning deeply.

“That kid, I swear,” he muttered.

Morgana braced himself, then stepped into view. “Hey, chief!”

The sound caught Sojiro’s attention - his eyes moved quickly over to Morgana. “I thought I told him not to let the cat roam around down here.”

“Ren’s sick!” Morgana said. “He’s got a hot forehead!”

“What, are you hungry?” Sojiro said, scratching his head. “Ren will feed you when he decides to come downstairs.”

Morgana groaned. “Ugh, I’m not hungry! More importantly, Ren is sick!”

“Alright, stop yelping so loudly. I’ll get you some food.”

“That’s not what I’m trying to- ugh, forget it!” Morgana changed tactics; he hopped up a couple of stairs and looked back pointedly at Sojiro. “Follow me!”

Sojiro, to his credit, did step out from behind the counter. Morgana hopped up a couple more steps to instil his point further.

“What, do you want me to go upstairs?” Sojiro said, catching on.

Morgana went up another step cautiously.

Finally, Sojiro started following him with a sigh. “Fine, I’ll follow you if it stops your yowling.”

Victorious, Morgana lead Sojiro up the stairs to the attic. Once they arrived, he ran over to the bed and jumped onto it, looking back toward Sojiro. “Over here!”

“What is- Is the kid asleep already?” Sojiro said, making his way over to the bed. “Oi, if you want food, you need to come downstairs.”

However, the closer Sojiro approached, the more the lines above his head creased in concern. On the bed, Ren was still barely conscious and shivering.

“Now do you get it?” Morgana said.

For good measure, Morgana walked up to Ren’s forehead and placed his paw on it again.

Sojiro hesitated a long moment before reaching down and pressing the back of his own hand to Ren’s forehead. He quickly retracted it, eyes widening. “No wonder you looked like crap. A fever like that…”

“Sojiro? You up here?” Futaba’s head popped up at the top of the stairs, her eyes wide beneath the large frames of her glasses. “What’s wrong?”

“He’s got a fever,” Sojiro said, gesturing to Ren.

“It’s been coming on for a while,” Morgana added.

“Really?!” Futaba rushed over to the bed, kneeling beside it. “Ren, you dummy! You should have told us if you were feeling bad!”

Blearily, the black-haired boy turned his head towards them, blinking. “Sorry,” he managed to whisper in a broken voice.

“Stop apologising,” Sojiro said. “I’ll make something mild and bring it up for you - you should at least try to eat something, even if you’re not hungry.”

“But the curry-”

“Don’t worry about it. It won’t go to waste around here.” Sojiro turned to Futaba. “Speaking of, yours is getting cold.”

Futaba glanced between Sojiro and Ren, clearly troubled. In the end, hunger won out. “I’ll be back when I’m done eating!”

“It’s okay,” Ren croaked. Somehow, even through the incoherence of his voice, there remained a warm tone. He tried to smile.

His reaction made Futaba’s own lips form a smile, relieved at his acceptance. With that, she rushed downstairs, Sojiro following her.

* * *

Yeah, Morgana should really have seen this coming. Not only has Ren been under the weather ever since Morgana left the group and met Haru, but he’s been sick and hiding it ever since. There were clear signs that he wasn’t okay, too.

Just when Morgana had promised himself to improve and work harder for his team, he’s managed to fail in looking after the one person he’s with constantly.

Morgana presses his paws against the mattress, kneading out the frustration building within him. He should have noticed sooner, he should have said something, he should have stopped Ren from taking all of this on by himself-

A weak voice interrupts his thoughts.

“I’m sorry,” Ren mumbles.

Looking up, Morgana sees that Ren isn’t looking at him. Though he’s curled on his side facing Morgana, his eyes gaze toward his pillow.

“You don’t have to apologise,” Morgana says, shaking his head. “I just don’t get why you didn’t say anything sooner.”

“Didn’t want to worry you. Not much time.”

Morgana’s heart breaks at the words, and he understands. It makes sense; Ren noticed himself slowing down, probably felt aggravated at himself for it but still tried to be useful wherever he could. Ren pressed through the Palace, getting more and more worn down with each passing infiltration but still trying to do his job as the leader because if he didn’t, Haru would be sold off and who knows what would happen to the rest of them. Despite getting sick and feeling useless, Ren did everything he could for the sake of the Phantom Thieves. The moment a break in their routine finally arrived, his body gave up on him.

Part of Morgana is envious that Ren could be so selfless, even in his current state.

“You idiot,” Morgana says. “You do realise that you have a whole team behind you, right?”

Ren’s eyes meet Morgana’s, and somehow he has the gall to look confused. “Huh…?”

“There’s a reason why everyone looks up to you as the leader of the Phantom Thieves,” Morgana says. “And that reason is why every member of our group would fight to the end to make sure you’re okay.”

“I don’t…” Ren mumbles.

“Just think about how many lives you’ve helped change, just by being someone others can rely on.” Morgana thinks back to all the times Ren has helped him, even just by lending an ear, even just by accepting him as he is.

Ren shakes his head, slowly so as not to aggravate the headache he probably has. “I didn’t do those things expecting payment in kind.”

This boy sure is obstinate. Morgana gets up from his seat, padding closer so he can tap Ren’s forehead with his paw. “Remember our deal? I said at the very beginning that this would be give and take. We all want to help you, too. Just like you’ve done for us.”

In that moment, as though some higher power had heard their whole conversation, Ren’s phone lights up. Notifications flood onto his lock screen, all messages from the group chat. Ren glances over to Morgana and waits for his nod before unlocking his phone, his eyes widening at the sight.

**14/10/16 | Friday | Evening**

**Futaba** : listen up everyone!!  
**Futaba** : ren’s sick :c  
**Ryuji** : for real?! damn dude, u should’ve said something. u ok?  
**Ann** : yeah, he did look ill in class today. I was worried!  
**Futaba** : he’s asleep rn, mona’s looking after him  
**Yusuke** : This is certainly concerning to hear. Ren, please notify us of your wellbeing as soon as you can, and rest well.  
**Makoto** : Yes, please look after yourself. Sleep and hydration are key to a smooth recovery.  
**Haru** : I hope you feel better soon!  
**Haru** : Would it be alright to visit you tomorrow? I have a type of tea that might work well if you have a sore throat!  
**Ann** : yeah, I wanna visit too! I’ll bring snacks!  
**Ryuji** : yo we shouldn’t crowd him too much, rite?? he needs sleep  
**Ryuji** : but if ur feelin bored and up for playin some games, i’m in  
**Makoto** : If you need help catching up on studying after you’ve recovered, I’m glad to help, too.  
**Yusuke** : I’d be happy to visit too, though I can only offer my company, I’m afraid.

Morgana looks back up at Ren. His grey eyes are still fixed on his phone screen, its light illuminating the moisture gathering in the corners.

“See?” Morgana says quietly. “They care about you. We all do.”

Ren presses his lips together, his thumbs moving to tap out a response.

 **Ren** : Thanks, guys. I’m looking forward to seeing you all  
**Ren** : Sorry for-

“Don’t apologise,” Morgana interrupts before he can send the last message. “Look.”

 **Ren** : Thanks, guys. I’m looking forward to seeing you all  
**Ann** : great!! we’ll swing by after school then, yeah?  
**Haru** : I look forward to it!  
**Yusuke** : Indeed.  
**Ryuji** : ye man!  
**Makoto** : Please just rest well for tonight, Ren. We’ll see you tomorrow.  
**Futaba** : heck yeah!!

“See? You’re not annoying them,” Morgana says. “They care.”

“You’re right,” Ren says softly, deleting the unsent apology. “I need to have more faith in them.”

A couple of coughs punctuate the sentence, but Ren smiles regardless. Morgana wishes he had half the strength of heart Ren does.

“Good,” Morgana says, pushing the thought away. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep them in line while you’re recovering. You just focus on resting, okay?”

Ren gives a weak laugh, nodding into his pillow. He locks his phone and turns his attention to Morgana. “Thanks, Morgana. Your being here is enough.”

The words take Morgana by surprise, but before he can find a response, Ren’s sinking back into his cocoon, eyes closed.

This guy… He’s helped so many people, just by being there for them when they needed it. He’s done so much, even for Morgana, without realising it.

Maybe Morgana could be like that too. Maybe he _is_ being like that, by being here right now.

Even though Morgana didn’t notice the signs - couldn’t stop Ren from overexerting himself, from being reckless and making himself sick because of it - he can’t change that now. What he _can_ do is start here. A step at a time, he can change.

For now, all he can do is stay at Ren’s side. Maybe that’s okay.

Morgana moves closer to Ren’s side, laying down so his fur is pressed against Ren’s blanketed form. His breathing slows to match Ren’s, and he makes a promise to himself to become someone Ren can rely on to the very end, just like Ren’s done for him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you wanna say hi, I'm on twitter [@randomwriter57](http://twitter.com/randomwriter57). I make art sometimes and RT a bunch of stuff.


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